As predicted, some who think they're insured under Obamacare apparently are not

In October and November, the error rate for the Obamacare website as far as an enrollee having their information forwarded to an insurer was 25%. No one knew how many people would think they were covered while the insurance company had no clue they were even a customer.

It's early yet, but there have already been several examples of this little "glitch" that may cost people's lives.

Hospital staff in Northern Virginia are turning away sick people on a frigid Thursday morning because they can't determine whether their Obamacare insurance plans are in effect.

Patients in a close-in DC suburb who think they've signed up for new insurance plans are struggling to show their December enrollments are in force, and health care administrators aren't taking their word for it.

In place of quick service and painless billing, these Virginians are now facing the threat of sticker-shock that comes with bills they can't afford.

'They had no idea if my insurance was active or not!' a coughing Maria Galvez told MailOnline outside the Inova Healthplex facility in the town of Springfield.

She was leaving the building without getting a needed chest x-ray.

'The people in there told me that since I didn't have an insurance card, I would be billed for the whole cost of the x-ray,' Galvez said, her young daughter in tow. 'It's not fair - you know, I signed up last week like I was supposed to.'

The x-ray's cost, she was told, would likely be more than $500.

[...]

t's unlikely that a valid insurance card would have changed Galvez' fortunes, however.

Her Carefirst plan, identified on the Obamacare website as BlueChoice Plus Bronze, carries a $5,500 per-person deductible for 2014 - an amount she would have to pay out-of-pocket before her coverage would apply to medical expenses.

The Inova radiology department wouldn't speak with MailOnline, and Carefirst did not respond to a request for comment.

A similar situation frustrated Mary, an African-American woman small businesswoman who asked MailOnline not to publish her last name. She was leaving the Inova Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia with two family members.

'I had chest pains last night, and they took me in the emergency room,' Mary said. 'They told me they were going to admit me, but when I told them I hadn't heard from my insurance company since I signed up, they changed their tune.'

She told MailOnline that a nurse advised her that her bill would go up by at least $3,000 if she were admitted for a day, and her doctor told her the decision was up to her.

How widespread is the snafu? It could be tens of thousands or more - we will probably never know because if the administration has those numbers, they will never let them see the light of day.

This situation is a consequence of deliberately opening the website knowing full well it wasn't ready. Negligence, incompetence, a cynical disregard for how these sorts of glitches impact people's lives - there is much the Obama administration has to answer for.

Just when they're going to get around to doing that remains a mystery.

In October and November, the error rate for the Obamacare website as far as an enrollee having their information forwarded to an insurer was 25%. No one knew how many people would think they were covered while the insurance company had no clue they were even a customer.

It's early yet, but there have already been several examples of this little "glitch" that may cost people's lives.

Hospital staff in Northern Virginia are turning away sick people on a frigid Thursday morning because they can't determine whether their Obamacare insurance plans are in effect.

Patients in a close-in DC suburb who think they've signed up for new insurance plans are struggling to show their December enrollments are in force, and health care administrators aren't taking their word for it.

In place of quick service and painless billing, these Virginians are now facing the threat of sticker-shock that comes with bills they can't afford.

'They had no idea if my insurance was active or not!' a coughing Maria Galvez told MailOnline outside the Inova Healthplex facility in the town of Springfield.

She was leaving the building without getting a needed chest x-ray.

'The people in there told me that since I didn't have an insurance card, I would be billed for the whole cost of the x-ray,' Galvez said, her young daughter in tow. 'It's not fair - you know, I signed up last week like I was supposed to.'

The x-ray's cost, she was told, would likely be more than $500.

[...]

t's unlikely that a valid insurance card would have changed Galvez' fortunes, however.

Her Carefirst plan, identified on the Obamacare website as BlueChoice Plus Bronze, carries a $5,500 per-person deductible for 2014 - an amount she would have to pay out-of-pocket before her coverage would apply to medical expenses.

The Inova radiology department wouldn't speak with MailOnline, and Carefirst did not respond to a request for comment.

A similar situation frustrated Mary, an African-American woman small businesswoman who asked MailOnline not to publish her last name. She was leaving the Inova Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia with two family members.

'I had chest pains last night, and they took me in the emergency room,' Mary said. 'They told me they were going to admit me, but when I told them I hadn't heard from my insurance company since I signed up, they changed their tune.'

She told MailOnline that a nurse advised her that her bill would go up by at least $3,000 if she were admitted for a day, and her doctor told her the decision was up to her.

How widespread is the snafu? It could be tens of thousands or more - we will probably never know because if the administration has those numbers, they will never let them see the light of day.

This situation is a consequence of deliberately opening the website knowing full well it wasn't ready. Negligence, incompetence, a cynical disregard for how these sorts of glitches impact people's lives - there is much the Obama administration has to answer for.

Just when they're going to get around to doing that remains a mystery.